Fan



Nov., 25, 1947. l c. L.. MooRMAN FAN Filed oc'c.r 24, 1945 ffl" .l

Patented Nov. 25, 1947 FAN Charles L. Moorman, Millington, Ill., assignor to Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application October 24, 1945, Serial No. 624,248

Claims.

This invention relates to fans and more particularly to circulating fans of the type used in refrigerator cars, or the like.

In fans used in refrigerator cars, it is desirable that the fan shall be able to circulate air in the same direction regardless of the direction of rotation of the fan shaft, Since the ian is usually driven by a power take-off from the car wheel, this means that proper circulation can be maintained in the car regardless of the direction of travel of the car. It is also desirable that the direction of circulation be controllable so that it can be changed to accommodate different conditions of use as, for example, when the car is used either as a refrigerated car or as a ventilated car.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a fan construction which will circulate air in the desired direction regardless of the direction of rotation of the fan itself.

Another Object is to provide a fan construction in which the direction of air circulation can be controlled.

Still another object is to provide a fan having a movable housing which can be shifted to change the direction of air circulation.

The above and other objects and advantages of the `invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a partial top plan view of a fan construction embodying the invention showingr the parts in one position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with parts broken away showing another position of the parts; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse section on the line 3 3 of Figure 1;

The fan of the present invention is adapted to be installed in a refrigerator car or the like whose side wall is indicated at Ill. The fan is carried by a transverse beam which may form a support for or a, part of the lading floor of the car. The beam includes a bottom plate I I adapted to be supported on the floor of the car and a top plate I2 having its edges turned down as indicated at i3. The top plate is held spaced from the bottom plate by struts or ns I4 at the sides of the beam so that the beam sides are substantially open and unobstructed. Preferably, to facilitate delivery of air through the sides of the beam, ller strips I5 are connected to the lower edges of the ilanges I3 and to the under surface of the top plate I2, as shown in Figure 3.

The beam is adapted to contain a fan construction comprising an elongated shaft I6 eX- tending lengthwise centrally through the beam and supported on spaced pillow blocks Il. The shaft I5 carries a plurality of sets of radial blades I8 supported on hubs I9 which are attached to the shaft I6 for rotation therewith, As seen in Figures 1 and 2, the sets of blades I8 are spaced lengthwise along the shaft with the space between adiacent sets of blades at least as great as the axial length of the blades. The shaft I6 may be driven by any desired type of drive, such as a power take-ofi, not shown.

To control delivery of air by the blades an elongated tubular housing 2| is provided supported on the bottom plate II and substantially encircling the shaft and blades. The housing 2| is formed in its opposite sides with spaced, staggered openings 22, the spacing between which is substantially the same as that between the adjacent sets of blades. The housing 2|, as seen in Figure 3, encloses one side of the blades while leaving the other side open to form a discharge opening. With this construction, air will be drawn into the. openings at one side, which lie between the sets of blades, and will ow axially into the blades. Operation of the blades -in either direction will cause the air to be blown centrifugally out through the openings 22 which register with the blades so that air will be circulated through the car.

The housing 2I is adapted to be shifted to change the direction of air delivery. For this purpose, one end of the housing carries a plate 23 to which an operating rod 24 is secured. The rod 24 extends slidably through a bushing in the wall I0 and has pivotally connected to its outer end a handle 25.

With the parts in the position shown in Figure 1 to circulate air from the bottom toward the top, as seen, the handle 25 is pulled out to shift the housing 2I to the right. At this time, the handle 35 may be moved substantially at right angles to the rod 24 and may be latched in position by a, latch mechanism 26. In this position, the openings 22 at the bottom of the figure register with the spaces between the sets of blades while the openings at the top of the figure register with the blades. To reverse the direction of circulation, the handle 25 is aligned with the rod 24 and pushed as shown in Figure 2. In this position, the openings 22 at the top of the figure register with the spaces between the blades while the openings at the bottom of the figure register with the blades so that air circulation will be from the top toward the bottom. To facilitate shifting of the housing 2l, its ends may be supported in substantially tubular guides 21 at the ends of the beam.

With the present construction, it will be seen that the direction of circulation can easily and quickly be reversed and that the selected direction of circulation will be maintained regardless of the direction of rotation of the shaft I6 and the fan blades.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is not intended to be taken as a denition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fan for use in a refrigerator car or the like comprising in a beam having open sides a rotatable shaft extending lengthwise in the beam, a set of substantially radial blades on the shaft, a housing in the beam around the blades open at the ends and one side of the blades to provide inlet and outlet openings for the blades, and means to move the housing to change the outlet opening from register with one side to the other of the beam.

2. A fan for use in a refrigerator car or the like comprising a rotatable shaft, a set of substantially radial blades on the shaft, an axially shiftable housing around the blades having axially spaced staggered openings in its opposite sides, and means to shift the housing to bring the openings selectively into register with the blades.

3. A fan for use in a refrigerator car or the like comprising an elongated rotatable shaft, a plurality of spaced sets of blades on the shaft, an elongated tubular housing around the shaft and blades, having spaced staggered openings in its opposite sides, and means to shift the housing axially to bring the openings in one side or the other into register with the blades.

5 sets of blades on the shaft, a housing movably mounted in the beam around the shaft and blades and having openings therein to register with the blades, and means to move the housing effectively to move the openings from one side to the other of the beam.

5. In a fan construction, a beam having spaced top and bottom plates and open sides, a shaft extending lengthwise through the beam between the top and' bottom plates, a plurality of spaced sets of blades on the shaft, and elongated tubular housing axially shiftable in the beam and having spaced staggered openings in its opposite sides, and means to shift the housing selectively to bring the openings in one side or the other into register with the blades.

CHARLES L. MOORMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

